To make the seed brittle, use an iron skillet. Place seeds in skillet on medium heat. Once they start to get warm and slightly toasty, pour in maple syrup. Stir and add chili powder and a pinch of salt. Remove from heat and let cool on a plate. Wash kale leaves well, dry, and remove the middle, thick vein. Tear leaves into bite sized pieces and place in a big bowl. To make dressing- in a small bowl, mix the garlic, mustard, Worcestershire, egg, and olive oil with a small whisk. Slowly pour the olive oil in as you whisk. Pour dressing over kale leaves. Pour cheese in and gently toss. Top with seed brittle. Divide between two plates and serve with a lemon wedge.

And then we went to Austin where it has become our tradition to eat as many tacos as is possible!

We tried lots of new places to us but our very favorite new taco was the “Gringa” from Rosita’s Al Pastor on East Riverside Drive. It was divine! In fact, I’ve been day dreaming about it ever since.

Grant played a gig with our friend and talented songwriter, Teri Joyce. I love seeing music in Texas because the room is always full of dancers!

Grant playing with Teri Joyce & The Tagalongs at ABGB in Austin.

We also finally experienced Willie’s Picnic on the 4th of July which was super fun. I’ve never been much of a festival fan but I am happy to report that Willie’s Picnic was very well organized, all the bands put on great performances, and it was an all around fun day. It was a great mix of our favorite Texas and Nashville bands.

There was a huge crowd at Willie’s Picnic! (That’s KRIS KRISTOFFERSON on stage, not that you can tell!)

One Nashville musician we were really happy to hear, whose new album Traveller has been in heavy rotation at our house, was Chris Stapleton . Nine years ago last month, as we drove across country to relocate to Nashville in search of real (old) country music history, we tried to acquaint ourselves with some of the newer country music that was happening on the big country radio stations. Every once in awhile we would hear a song that would catch our attention and reel us in. Almost every one of those songs, we would later find out, was written by Chris Stapleton. Once we got to Nashville, one of the first local bands we starting seeing at the Station Inn was The SteelDrivers, fronted by none other than Chris Stapleton. Well, now, he’s out on his own with his wife, Morgan Hayes, accompanying him on vocals and a killer backing band consisting of JT Cure on bass and Derek Mixon on drums (two of my favorites). Another common thread that links this album to many of my other current Nashville favorites is producer Dave Cobb. He seems to have it going on…

You can read/hear a fabulous interview with Chris that our friend Jewly Hight did for NPR here. Traveller is one of my new favorite albums. It’s pure country soul. You can purchase the new album here.

I was super excited to see that Samantha Harlow has a new video out! You can see it and read so much about her in this fun Rolling Stone Country article here. We’ve known Samantha since Grant played down at Robert’s. She tends bar and often jumps up on stage to sing a song or two. She has such a lovely voice. Keep an eye on this one, I think she has a bright future.

Samantha Harlow played our Red Barn Round-Up party way back when… May, 2013.